---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment >Check crown and bearing. It probably has little to none of either. Having a >notch in the bridge at the strut also doesn't help matters much. Better >with high humidity, worse with low. It's pretty classic. ><end> > >So, assuming this is what I find, what's next? Fairy dust, quick blessing >and run, landfill? Crappie shelter. Just as well get some long term benefit from the carcass. >No, really..... soundboard springs, backside bridge reinforcement,....????? >It's in a school, so they'd probably opt to replace, rather than sink a >bunch of money into it. > >anotherRon First, I'd explain to them what the situation is, and issue the full compliment of disclaimers regarding expectations of resurrecting a dead soundboard that they expected to be immortal as long as they couldn't see a crack. Then I'd quiz them to make sure they've got the gist of the problem. This is the hardest part of the attempted fix. I'd try backside bridge reinforcement as a first pass, fitting 3/4 maple between the ribs along the bridge line, making them a couple of inches wide to add some mass as well as (hopefully) stiffness. Drill holes through the back posts as necessary for access to drive the screws through the maple block, through the soundboard, and into the bridge. This isn't going to do anything for crown and bearing, but it might add enough stiffness and mass to get you in range of the summer sound in winter, which should be enough of a miracle for anyone. If that doesn't work, I'd issue a disclaimer booster shot and quiz and try the springs, probably experimenting with some brass weights on the backside of the bridge too, depending on what I heard. If the piano can be made acceptable to them by doing any of this stuff, issue yet another disclaimer booster with the phrase "reanimation of the dead" somewhere in there to make the point, and take note of how it does through the winter, how it reacts to the Summer seasonal change, and more important, how it sounds next winter. If the problem is back next winter, it's crappie shelter time, live with it, or replace the board. Meanwhile, go to your local Yamaha dealer when it's cold and the store humidity is low, and whack on the new P22s in and around the killer octave. They could all use some reinforcement there where the bridge is notched around the strut. Ron N ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment --- Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.545 / Virus Database: 339 - Release Date: 11/27/2003 ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment--
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